THE PLOT
The Enterprise is entrusted with a top-secret, priority mission: to rendezous with "Tin Man," the designation Starfleet has given to an ancient living ship that has been detected in an area of space whose borders - between the Federation and the Romulans - are in dispute. For this mission, Picard has a passenger he doesn't entirely welcome: Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener).
Elbrun is a Betazoid who was born with full telepathic abilities, a prodigy with a long history of contacting other species. He also has a scandal over his head, over a disastrous failed negotiation that cost the lives of several Starfleet officers, and leaves him regarded with suspicion by Picard and outright hostility by Riker. Still, Starfleet regards him as probably the only man who can truly communicate with the creature. But the Romulans are also racing toward "Tin Man." Only their orders, if they fail to secure the vessel, are to destroy it!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: He doesn't trust Elbrun, but does the man the courtesy of being open with both his distrust and his reasons. Elbrun is "distracted" during his briefing, and has to be prompted to mention the not-so-incidental detail of the Romulans' interest in "Tin Man." Elbrun is not forthcoming with his low-level contact with the living ship (though he mentions it to Troi, who then doesn't mention it to Picard), and when he warns "Tin Man" of the Romulans' forthcoming attack, he does so without thinking of the consequences to the Enterprise. Despite his lack of faith in Elbrun's judgment, he does allow the man to proceed with his mission, though by the time he makes that decision it's as much because of a lack of good alternatives as anything else.
Riker: Is openly hostile to Elbrun from the instant the captain of the Hood mentions the name. He lost two friends in the first contact failure shadowing Elbrun, and he refuses to believe the official finding that the incident was a result of Starfleet personnel ignoring Elbrun's warnings. Nothing is really done with this hostility, and the last word the episode gives on the subject (less than halfway through) is to indicate that while Elbrun did warn the captain in that incident, he probably should have been "more forceful." With Riker's hostility never allowed to build to anything, the first officer fades into the background for the show's second half.
Data: Assigned by Picard to work with Elbrun, Data quickly develops a bond with the Betazoid. In many ways, Data's working relationship with Elbrun is very similar to his interactions with Q in Deja Q, with Data becoming the confidante of someone the rest of the crew dislikes. It's not as well-used here as there, but then this isn't as good an episode. Data does observe Elbrun's isolation, as Troi does, only he supports allowing Elbrun to complete his mission, something Troi ends up arguing against.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener) is a Betazoid protegy. Born with full telepathic abilities, rather than developing them gradually as most Betazoids do, Tam has had to deal all his life with being unable to shut out the thoughts and feelings of everyone around him. He does his best to find assignments that shut him away from humanity, attaching himself to strange life forms - "the stranger, the better." He is in telepathic contact with Tin Man, even from light years away, and senses a kindred soul in the creature's own isolation.
Romulans: Though the Romulans are more discussed than seen, they do play a vital role in this episode. When Elbrun notes that the Romulans lay claim to the region of space in which "Tin Man" has been found, Worf growls that the Romulans "claim everything in their line of vision." The first Romulan ship drives itself so hard to beat Enterprise to the living ship, it exhausts its own capabilities, insuring itself a one-way trip. The prize is worth more to them than their own lives.
THOUGHTS
Tin Man is an "in-between" episode. Much of it is good, particularly when the stakes get raised in the episode's second half. But it pales when compared to Season Three's other Romulan episodes, and there are definitely aspects of the story that fail, some of them very decidedly. Not at all bad, but flawed enough that it's also not really very good, this episode end sup stuck in that difficult-to-review "in-between."
An issue with this episode is the backstory of the guest character. The disastrous incident is Elbrun's past could be interesting, if it was tied more strongly to the current situation. But we never really find out very much about that incident. There is never any confrontation between Elbrun and Riker over it. After much is made of Riker's hostility toward Elbrun, the entire subplot is dropped after about twenty minutes and never even mentioned again. It comes across as simply a clumsy shorthand to justify Picard's suspicions of a man we are told is otherwise regarded as Starfleet's best when it comes to first-contact situations.
Harry Groener is a solid television actor, who has done some splendid work. Most notably as the mayor of Sunnydale in Season Three of Buffy, though he was also good in the final two-parter of Enterprise's closing season. Unfortunately, this performance is erratic. In attempting to convey Elbrun's constant state of mental distress, he ends up mainly just overacting. I will acknowledge that neither script nor costume gives him any help, but a subtler performance would have been far preferable.
On the other hand, there are some interesting ideas here, including communication with a living ship in an episode that significantly predates Farscape. The interior of "Tin Man" is a bit hit-and-miss in conveying this, with too much of the set simply looking like the standard Trek cave set, lightly tweaked. However, the scenes aboard the ship are interesting. And if the ending's easy to see coming, it nevertheless still works.
In the end, it's a decent enough episode, even if I could wish for it to use its various pieces a little more thoroughly. I'll give it the same score as Captain's Holiday, on the grounds that while it's certainly a more thoughtful and ambitious piece, it's also one that I got less enjoyment out of viewing.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
The Enterprise is entrusted with a top-secret, priority mission: to rendezous with "Tin Man," the designation Starfleet has given to an ancient living ship that has been detected in an area of space whose borders - between the Federation and the Romulans - are in dispute. For this mission, Picard has a passenger he doesn't entirely welcome: Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener).
Elbrun is a Betazoid who was born with full telepathic abilities, a prodigy with a long history of contacting other species. He also has a scandal over his head, over a disastrous failed negotiation that cost the lives of several Starfleet officers, and leaves him regarded with suspicion by Picard and outright hostility by Riker. Still, Starfleet regards him as probably the only man who can truly communicate with the creature. But the Romulans are also racing toward "Tin Man." Only their orders, if they fail to secure the vessel, are to destroy it!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: He doesn't trust Elbrun, but does the man the courtesy of being open with both his distrust and his reasons. Elbrun is "distracted" during his briefing, and has to be prompted to mention the not-so-incidental detail of the Romulans' interest in "Tin Man." Elbrun is not forthcoming with his low-level contact with the living ship (though he mentions it to Troi, who then doesn't mention it to Picard), and when he warns "Tin Man" of the Romulans' forthcoming attack, he does so without thinking of the consequences to the Enterprise. Despite his lack of faith in Elbrun's judgment, he does allow the man to proceed with his mission, though by the time he makes that decision it's as much because of a lack of good alternatives as anything else.
Riker: Is openly hostile to Elbrun from the instant the captain of the Hood mentions the name. He lost two friends in the first contact failure shadowing Elbrun, and he refuses to believe the official finding that the incident was a result of Starfleet personnel ignoring Elbrun's warnings. Nothing is really done with this hostility, and the last word the episode gives on the subject (less than halfway through) is to indicate that while Elbrun did warn the captain in that incident, he probably should have been "more forceful." With Riker's hostility never allowed to build to anything, the first officer fades into the background for the show's second half.
Data: Assigned by Picard to work with Elbrun, Data quickly develops a bond with the Betazoid. In many ways, Data's working relationship with Elbrun is very similar to his interactions with Q in Deja Q, with Data becoming the confidante of someone the rest of the crew dislikes. It's not as well-used here as there, but then this isn't as good an episode. Data does observe Elbrun's isolation, as Troi does, only he supports allowing Elbrun to complete his mission, something Troi ends up arguing against.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener) is a Betazoid protegy. Born with full telepathic abilities, rather than developing them gradually as most Betazoids do, Tam has had to deal all his life with being unable to shut out the thoughts and feelings of everyone around him. He does his best to find assignments that shut him away from humanity, attaching himself to strange life forms - "the stranger, the better." He is in telepathic contact with Tin Man, even from light years away, and senses a kindred soul in the creature's own isolation.
Romulans: Though the Romulans are more discussed than seen, they do play a vital role in this episode. When Elbrun notes that the Romulans lay claim to the region of space in which "Tin Man" has been found, Worf growls that the Romulans "claim everything in their line of vision." The first Romulan ship drives itself so hard to beat Enterprise to the living ship, it exhausts its own capabilities, insuring itself a one-way trip. The prize is worth more to them than their own lives.
THOUGHTS
Tin Man is an "in-between" episode. Much of it is good, particularly when the stakes get raised in the episode's second half. But it pales when compared to Season Three's other Romulan episodes, and there are definitely aspects of the story that fail, some of them very decidedly. Not at all bad, but flawed enough that it's also not really very good, this episode end sup stuck in that difficult-to-review "in-between."
An issue with this episode is the backstory of the guest character. The disastrous incident is Elbrun's past could be interesting, if it was tied more strongly to the current situation. But we never really find out very much about that incident. There is never any confrontation between Elbrun and Riker over it. After much is made of Riker's hostility toward Elbrun, the entire subplot is dropped after about twenty minutes and never even mentioned again. It comes across as simply a clumsy shorthand to justify Picard's suspicions of a man we are told is otherwise regarded as Starfleet's best when it comes to first-contact situations.
Harry Groener is a solid television actor, who has done some splendid work. Most notably as the mayor of Sunnydale in Season Three of Buffy, though he was also good in the final two-parter of Enterprise's closing season. Unfortunately, this performance is erratic. In attempting to convey Elbrun's constant state of mental distress, he ends up mainly just overacting. I will acknowledge that neither script nor costume gives him any help, but a subtler performance would have been far preferable.
On the other hand, there are some interesting ideas here, including communication with a living ship in an episode that significantly predates Farscape. The interior of "Tin Man" is a bit hit-and-miss in conveying this, with too much of the set simply looking like the standard Trek cave set, lightly tweaked. However, the scenes aboard the ship are interesting. And if the ending's easy to see coming, it nevertheless still works.
In the end, it's a decent enough episode, even if I could wish for it to use its various pieces a little more thoroughly. I'll give it the same score as Captain's Holiday, on the grounds that while it's certainly a more thoughtful and ambitious piece, it's also one that I got less enjoyment out of viewing.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
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